Tempo:
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
316 if
he did not ordain
it
as
the
^pp xil
proper salutation of
believers.
Many of the chapters or books into which the Adi Granth is divided, begin with the expression 'Eko Unkar, Sat Guru Prasad', which may be interpreted to mean, 'The One God, and the grace of the blessed Guru'. Spme of the chapters of the Daswen Padshah ka Granth begin with 'Eko Unkar, Wah Guru ki Fath', that is, 'The One God and the power of the Guru*. The Sikh author of the Gur Ratnawali gives the following fanciful and trivial origin of the salutation
Wah Guru
!
Wasdev, the exclamation of the first age, or Satyug;
Har Har, the exclamation of the second age; Gobind Gobind, the exclamation of the third age; Ram Ram, the exclamation of the fourth age, or Kalyug; whence Wah Guru in the fifth age, or under the
new dispensation.
APPENDIX XIII THE SIKH DEVOTION TO STEEL, AND THE TERM 'SACHCHA PADSHAH' For allusions to this devotion to steel see Malcolm, Sketch, pp. 48, 117 n., 182 n. The meaning given in the text to the principle inculcated seems to be the true one. Throughout India the implements of any calling are in a manner worshipped, or in Western moderation of phrase, they are blessed or consecrated. This is especially noticeable among merchants, who annually perform religious ceremonies before a heap of gold; among hereditary clerks or writers, who similarly idolize their inkhorn; and among soldiers and military leaders, who on the festival of the Das-hara consecrate their banners and piled-up weapons. Gobind withdrew his followers from that undivided attention which their fathers had given to the plough, the loom, and the pen, and he urged them to regard the sword as their principal stay in this world. The sentiment of veneration for that which gives us power, or safety, or our daily bread, may be traced in all countries. In our own a sailor impersonates, or almost deifies, his ship, and in India the custom of hereditary callings has heightened that feeling, which, expressed in the language of philosophy,
316 if
he did not ordain
it
as
the
^pp xil
proper salutation of
believers.
Many of the chapters or books into which the Adi Granth is divided, begin with the expression 'Eko Unkar, Sat Guru Prasad', which may be interpreted to mean, 'The One God, and the grace of the blessed Guru'. Spme of the chapters of the Daswen Padshah ka Granth begin with 'Eko Unkar, Wah Guru ki Fath', that is, 'The One God and the power of the Guru*. The Sikh author of the Gur Ratnawali gives the following fanciful and trivial origin of the salutation
Wah Guru
!
Wasdev, the exclamation of the first age, or Satyug;
Har Har, the exclamation of the second age; Gobind Gobind, the exclamation of the third age; Ram Ram, the exclamation of the fourth age, or Kalyug; whence Wah Guru in the fifth age, or under the
new dispensation.
APPENDIX XIII THE SIKH DEVOTION TO STEEL, AND THE TERM 'SACHCHA PADSHAH' For allusions to this devotion to steel see Malcolm, Sketch, pp. 48, 117 n., 182 n. The meaning given in the text to the principle inculcated seems to be the true one. Throughout India the implements of any calling are in a manner worshipped, or in Western moderation of phrase, they are blessed or consecrated. This is especially noticeable among merchants, who annually perform religious ceremonies before a heap of gold; among hereditary clerks or writers, who similarly idolize their inkhorn; and among soldiers and military leaders, who on the festival of the Das-hara consecrate their banners and piled-up weapons. Gobind withdrew his followers from that undivided attention which their fathers had given to the plough, the loom, and the pen, and he urged them to regard the sword as their principal stay in this world. The sentiment of veneration for that which gives us power, or safety, or our daily bread, may be traced in all countries. In our own a sailor impersonates, or almost deifies, his ship, and in India the custom of hereditary callings has heightened that feeling, which, expressed in the language of philosophy,
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